Construction work on the new Culver's is ongoing at 332 Division St. N., Stevens Point, the former site of Kwik Trip. The restaurant is expected to be completed in July.

On the Job is a blog by Business Editor Nathan Vine that looks at local business news in Portage County. You can view the blog by going to www.wisinfo.biz/blogs/category/stevens-point/on-the-job.

The following are excerpts from the blog:

Construction on the second Culver's in Stevens Point is moving forward, and the restaurant already is looking for employees.

Back in December, it was announced that the restaurant will be built 332 Division St. N., Stevens Point, in place of the former Kwik Trip, which moved to a new location at 1600 Maria Drive that same month.

Russ Trzebiatowski of Stevens Point, who also owns the Culver's at 5346 Highway 10, owns the new restaurant and he said at the time would be open by July. He said he has wanted to open a new restaurant for about three or four years.

The contractor currently on site is Bayland Buildings Inc., which is based out of Green Bay. There is also a billboard which states the restaurant is hiring for all positions, and that anyone interested should apply online at www.culvers.jobs.

Trzebiatowski has said the city could accommodate a second Culver's, and that the new location would benefit from its proximity to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Sentry Insurance and Stevens Point Area Senior High.

The architecture of the new restaurant is expected to be different than Trzebiatowski's current one. It will have a flat roof, be about 4,200 square feet and have some blue neon accent lighting.

The new location should also be easier to get into and out of than Kwik Trip, which had just one entrance and exit.

Culver's, a Wisconsin-based restaurant chain, added 28 new restaurants in 2012 that included its first one in South Carolina. Culver's finished the year with 473 restaurants operating in 20 states.

Stevens Point Brewery adds new ale

Operating Partner Joe Martino said in a news release that IPA is one of the most popular craft beer styles in the United States.

At the annual Great American Beer Festival, the nation's largest beer event, the American-style India Pale Ale category has attracted the most entries each year since 2001. In 2012, there were more than 200 entries in the festival.

The release also stated that a recent beer industry report noted that IPA is the fastest-growing craft beer style in America's restaurants, bars and taverns, with a 39 percent increase in overall on-premise sales last year.

Evolved from the English pale ales of the 18th and 19th centuries, India pale ales were originally brewed with higher alcohol contents and ample hops so the beer could better withstand the rigors of the long sea voyage from Britain to India.

The beer is available in 6-packs, 12-ounce bottles and on draft wherever Point Beer is sold.